Oliver’s Career-High 25 Leads Mount Saint Vincent Past Purchase

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Riverdale, N.Y. – College of Mount Saint Vincent junior Stephen Oliver (Brooklyn, N.Y.) knocked down a career-high six three-pointers on his way to a career-best 25 points as the Dolphins snapped a nine game home losing streak with a convincing 80-61 victory over league rival Purchase.

After B.J. Warrington gave the Panthers a 10-9 lead in the early going on Saturday, Cody Gauvard (Rockaway, N.Y.) answered with a three-point play at the 12:08 mark to push the Mount in front to stay at 12-10. The Gauvard three-point play started a 12-0 run for the Dolphins that was keyed by 6-for-7 shooting from the free-throw line, including 3-for-4 from Oliver.

The  Mount pulled in front 21-10 after two Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) conversions from the free-throw line and would not allow Purchase closer then 10 points the rest of the afternoon. Oliver knocked in two of his six triples in the final two minutes of the first half to send the Dolphins to the break with a 37-21 lead.

Oliver recorded a season-high with 15 points before the break after going 4-for-5 from behind the arc and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. He played a big role in the Dolphins shooting just under 63-percent from long distance in the opening 20 minutes.

The Dolphins maintained their comfortable advantage coming out of halftime and jumped out in front by 21 following another Oliver trey with 13:30 to play. Gauvard would knock down a jumper with just under seven minutes left to give the Dolphins their largest lead of the day at 70-44.

The Mount put together a complete game on Saturday after shooting just under 40-percent on the day, but going 9-for-17 from behind the arc. The Dolphins also outscored the Panthers 25-13 at the free-throw line and forced 22 Purchase turnovers.

Oliver led three Mount Saint Vincent players in double-figures on Saturday after pouring in his career-high point total. He was 6-for-9 from behind the arc and also recorded a career-high seven free-throw conversions. He became the seventh different player to lead the Mount in scoring this season.

Gauvard also came off the bench to have a strong day after finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds. The duo of Gauvard and Oliver helped the Mount's bench outscore its opponents 51-14 in the game.

Junior Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.) continued his steady campaign on Saturday after knocking down three triples and going 4-for-7 from the free-throw line on his way to 13 points. He also led the team in assists with four.

Saturday's result was a key one for the Mount who improved to 4-10 overall on the season and to 2-5 in league play. The triumph gives Mount Saint Vincent its first home win of the season and its first win at home overall since a 78-49 win over Bard on January 11, 2011.

The Dolphins will be back on the floor looking to climb another game closer to the .500 mark in league play on Tuesday when they travel to St. Joseph's-L.I. Tip-off with the Golden Eagles is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.